§5Ὁ μὲν οὖν ἕλκεσθαι λέγων ὁμοτίμως ἅπαντας τοὺς χυμοὺς εἰς τοσοῦτον ἀναίσθητός τε καὶ ἀμαθής ἐστιν, ὁ δ’ ἀλλοιοῦσθαι θεασάσθω πάλιν εἰς ὅσον οὐδὲν διοίσει κατ’ αὐτὸν ἢ φλεβοτομεῖν ἢ καθαίρειν χολαγωγῷ φαρμάκῳ τὸν ἰκτεριῶντα.
The one, then, who says that all the humors are attracted equally is to such a degree senseless and ignorant, whereas let the one [who says they are] altered behold in turn to what extent it will make no difference, according to him, either to open a vein or to purge with a cholagogue drug the person suffering from jaundice.
κατὰ δὲ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον ὁμότιμόν ἐστι φλεβοτομῆσαί τε τὸν ὑδεριῶντα καὶ κενῶσαι τινὶ τῶν ὑδραγωγῶν, εἶτα οὐκ αἰσχρὰ τὰ τοιαῦτα;
And in the same way, it is of equal value to phlebotomize the hydropic patient and to evacuate [him] with one of the hydragogue drugs; and then, are such things not shameful?
καταγελῶσιν οὐκ ὀρθῶς οἱ πολλοὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα ἀκούοντες ἀλλήλοις ἀντιλεγόντων τῶν ἰατρῶν, κατεγνώκασί τε τοῦ λόγου πάντες, ὀνομάζουσί τε τοὺς ὁπωσοῦν τι φθεγγομένους λογιατρούς.
The multitude, hearing such things when physicians contradict one another, mock them, not rightly, and they all condemn the art, and they call those who utter anything whatsoever "word-doctors".
ὃ γὰρ εἴωθα λέγειν ἀεὶ, τοῦτο καὶ νῦν εἰπεῖν μοι καιρὸς, ἰδιώτης ἅπας τοῦ τοιούτου σοφιστοῦ κρείττων ἐστίν.
For what I am always accustomed to say, now also is the opportunity for me to say: every layperson is better than such a sophist.
εἰ γὰρ καὶ μηδὲν ἄλλο, τὰς γοῦν κατὰ φύσιν ἐννοίας οἱ ἰδιῶται διασώζουσιν, ἀπολλύντων καὶ ταύτας διὰ μοχθηροὺς ἐθισμοὺς τῶν σοφιστῶν.
For even if nothing else, at least the laypeople preserve the natural conceptions, while the sophists destroy even these through bad habits.
ἔναγχος γοῦν τις ἰδιώτης οὐκ ἄφρων ἐξανθημάτων αὐτῷ κατὰ πολλὰ μόρια τοῦ σώματος ἐξαίφνης γενομένων ἑλκωδῶν τε καὶ κακοχρόων ἧκεν ὡς τὸν ἰατρὸν, ἀξιῶν ὅτι τάχιστα καθαρθῆναι.
Recently, at any rate, a certain layperson, not foolish, ulcerous and bad-colored eruptions having suddenly appeared to him on many parts of the body, came to the physician, demanding to be purged as quickly as possible.
τοῦ δὲ φλεβοτομεῖσθαι μᾶλλον αὐτὸν κελεύοντος, οὐ μαίνου, ἔφη, τῷ γὰρ διεφθαρμένῳ συνεκκενοῦσθαι τὸ χρηστὸν εὔλογον ὑπάρχει. ἀλλ’ οἱ πάντα μᾶλλον ἢ τὸν Ἱπποκράτειον λόγον ἀληθεύειν βουλόμενοι καὶ τὰς κοινὰς ἐννοίας προσαπολλύουσι τῇ φιλονεικίᾳ.
But when the physician ordered him rather to be phlebotomized, he said, "Are you not mad? For it is reasonable that along with the corrupted, the useful is also evacuated." But those who wish anything rather than the Hippocratic doctrine to be true destroy in addition even the common conceptions through their love of dispute.
κᾄπειτ’ ἐπιπηδῶσι μὲν ἡμῖν ὡς διασπασόμενοι, τοῖς δὲ ἐπ’ αὐτῶν τῶν ἔργων ἐλέγχοις ἄχθονται.
And then they leap upon us as if to tear us to pieces, but they are vexed by the refutations based on the works themselves.
δίκαιον δὲ ἦν ὡς ἡμεῖς ἐκείνους ἐπηρεάσοντας ὑπὲρ ὧν οὐκ ἴσασιν Ἱπποκράτην φέρομέν τε καὶ πείθειν ἐπιχειροῦμεν, οὕτω καὶ αὐτοὺς ὑπομένειν τοὺς ἐλέγχους, καὶ μάλιστα μὲν, εἰ οἷόν τε, στέργειν τοὺς διδάξαντας· εἰ δὲ μὴ, ἀλλὰ μὴ μισεῖν γε πάντως.
But it would be just, just as we, when they are going to insult us about things they do not know, bring forward Hippocrates and try to convince them, so they too should endure refutations, and most of all, if possible, love those who have taught them, or if not, at least not hate them altogether.
ἀκούσας γοῦν τις τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς τοιαύτης ἐμπληξίας ἰατρῶν, ὡς ἐγὼ παμπόλλους ἐθεράπευσα μόνῃ καθάρσει. τούτων δὴ τῶν τὰς καλουμένας ἀλωπεκίας ἐχόντων τοὐντεῦθεν ἤρξατο μισεῖν με.
At any rate, a certain one of the physicians of such stupidity, having heard that I cured very many by purging alone, namely, those having the so-called alopecia, from that moment began to hate me.
καί τις ἄλλος ὅτι καρκινώδεις διαθέσεις ἀρχομένας, τούς τε καλουμένους ἐλέφαντας καὶ φαγεδαίνας, ἄλλα τε πολλὰ τῶν κακοήθων ἑλκῶν ὁμοίως ἐμίσησεν, ἄλλος δὲ ὅτι σκοτωματικοὺς ἐθεράπευσα καθάρσεσι μόναις, ἄλλος δ’ ὅτι μανιώδεις ἐπιλήπτους τε καὶ μελαγχολικοὺς, ἔτι δὲ καὶ κεφαλαίᾳ κάμνοντας οὐκ ὀλίγους ἐξιασάμην καθάρσεσι μόναις, ὥσπερ γε καὶ ἰσχιαδικούς.
And another, because [I cured] beginning cancerous conditions, and the so-called elephantiasis and phagedena, and many other malignant ulcers, similarly hated [me]. And another because I cured those suffering from vertigo by purgings alone, and another because I completely cured madmen, epileptics, and melancholics, and furthermore not a few suffering from chronic headache by purgings alone, just as indeed also those with sciatica.
οὕτω δὲ καὶ ἀλγήματα χρόνια κατὰ πολλοὺς τόπους ἐσπαρμένα καὶ τοῦτον δὴ τὸν ἔναγχος ὡς κωλικὸν ἤδη τριῶν μηνῶν ὑπὸ τῶν ἰατρῶν θεραπευσάμενον, ἐπὶ τὸ χεῖρον προϊόντα, πάντα ἀποῤῥῖψαι κελεύσας ἐκεῖνα καθάρσεσι μόναις ἰασάμην.
And in this way also chronic pains scattered over many places, and indeed this man recently who had already been treated for three months by physicians as a colic patient, but was getting worse, having ordered [him] to cast away all those [remedies], I cured by purgings alone.
ἰασάμην δὲ καὶ ῥοῦν γυναικεῖον, οὐκ ἀφανοῦς τινος τῶν ἐν Ῥώμῃ γυναικῶν καθάρσεσι μόναις, ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ ἄλλων πολλῶν ἀφανεστέρων αὐτό τε τοῦτο τὸ πάθημα καὶ ἄλλα τινὰ τῶν κατὰ μήτραν συνισταμένων.
And I also cured uterine discharge of a certain woman, not undistinguished among those in Rome, by purgings alone, just as indeed also in many other more obscure women, both this very affection and certain other conditions arising in the uterus.
ἐρυσιπελάτων δὲ τί δεῖ καὶ λέγειν, ὡς οὐδέν ἐστι δραστικώτερον βοήθημα χολαγωγοῦ φαρμάκου, καθάπερ ἐναντιώτατον αὐτοῖς τὸ τοῦ φλέγματος ἀγωγόν.
And of erysipelas, what need is there even to speak, how there is no remedy more effective than a cholagogue drug, just as the phlegm-drawing drug is most contrary to them.
δι’ ὅλης ἡμέρας ἔχω καὶ ἄλλα λέγειν ἔργα θαυμάσια καθάρσεσιν ἑπόμενα, περὶ ὧν ἀγνοεῖν εἰκός ἐστι τοὺς μηδέποτε τὴν περὶ τὰ καθαίροντα φάρμακα τέχνην μεμαθηκότας.
I can spend the whole day speaking of other wonderful works following upon purgings, about which it is natural that those who have never learned the art concerning purging drugs should be ignorant.
ὅπου γὰρ οὐδ’ εἶναί τι νομίζουσιν ὅλως καθαῖρον φάρμακον, ἦ πού γε ἐπί τινων χρηστέον ἢ καθ’ ὅντινα τρόπον ἐπιστήσονται;
For where they do not even believe that there is any purging drug at all, how, indeed, will they know upon which patients it should be used, or in what manner?
διὰ τοῦτο θεραπεύουσιν μὲν ἄλλοι τὰ παθήματα ψιλῇ καὶ μόνῃ ποδηγούμενοι τῇ πείρᾳ.
For this reason, some treat affections guided by sheer and sole experience.
σοφοὶ δὲ ἡμῖν οὗτοι καὶ τὸν λόγον, οὐκ ἐφ’ ᾧ τι προσθεῖναι τοῖς διὰ τῆς ἐμπειρίας εὑρημένοις, ἀλλ’ ἀνατρέψαι καὶ ταύτην μεταχειριζόμενοι, πολὺ χεῖρον ἰατρεύουσι τῶν ἐπὶ ψιλαῖς καὶ μόναις ὁρμώντων ταῖς ἀλόγοις τριβαῖς.
But these "wise" men of ours, employing also reason — not in order to add something to what has been found through experience, but to subvert even this — treat patients much worse than those who rely on sheer and sole unreasoning practices.
ἁπάντων δὲ τούτων ἀρχὴ καὶ πηγὴ μία τὸ πρὸς Ἱπποκράτην μῖσος, ἐξ ἧς πηγῆς ἐῤῥύη μὲν καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ, καὶ τουτὶ δὲ αὐτὸ τὸ ἐνεστὸς σκέμμα, τὸ περὶ τῆς ἑλκτικῆς δυνάμεως, ἧς μέρος ἢ εἶδος ἢ ὡς ἄν τις ἐθέλοι καλεῖν ἡ τῶν καθαιρόντων φαρμάκων δύναμις.
And of all these things there is one beginning and source: hatred toward Hippocrates, from which source have flowed both many other things and indeed this very present inquiry concerning the attractive power, of which the power of purging drugs is a part, or a species, or however one might wish to call it.